Sep 03, 2019: Amandeep Drall has been in love with golf ever since she was given a taste of it at the Army Golf Club in Patiala, way back in 2006. The twelve-time winner on the WGAI HWPGT is ever-present on our golf circuit and has been the most consistent performer on the tour since 2015.
What Does the Women’s Indian Open mean to you?
It is our national event so obviously, it is a matter of pride and honour to be playing at this event. It is one of the bigger events on the European Tour and it happens in Delhi, India which is very close to my home town and so I look forward to this.
How has the season been for you?
The season so far has been on and off. I get into my zone in a couple of rounds and then my vibe completely goes off probably because I am switching to new gloves and I haven’t got much practice with them. Additionally, I am struggling a bit with my short game so I think I need more practice and probably patience.
When was the last time you played at the DLF Golf And Country Club?
So far, the last women’s Indian Open was the last time I played at DLF golf club. I think playing at DLF all this while I have figured out that it is all in the head so it doesn’t really matter if you play two three practice rounds or you just play one practice round. I have played enough in the past couple of years to know the course well. I just want to go prepared with my game and not the course. When I am back home, I am always practicing the shots I am going to hit on the course so it really doesn’t matter if I haven’t played much on that particular course.
One more win on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour this season, 12 victories. But it must be tiring to finish second every year since 2015. What do you need to move up a notch and seal that elusive honour at the top of the order of merit?
Finishing on top of the Order of Merit is probably playing most of the events and since from the past three years, I have been missing a couple of events at the start of the year. So later on, since there aren’t many girls on the circuit and the prize money isn’t big enough to cover the gap in just one or two events, one needs to play consistently a lot of events to cover up the gap. I think every year, I have been performing well. I don’t have any regrets or doubts about myself. The player who is at the top is consistently playing all the event so it is a bit tough to cover up. But still, I’ll wait for when I can finish No. 1.
What do you think is the big transition needed when you play on the Ladies European Tour? Our golfers, with the exception of Aditi Ashok, haven’t been able to make a big impression yet?
To play well in LET we need more events and exposure. It is mostly the mindset that needs to change and the number of times you put yourself in that position in contention every week in and week out. And obviously all the Indian players do need more exposure on the European Tour because the initial couple of events go in adjusting oneself to the environment, course set up and the weather.
If you go through the qualifying school as the rookie on tour then you don’t get to play too many events. Just three to four years earlier, the rookie players used to play 10-12 events a year but now that has come down to 4-5 events or lesser which is inadequate in terms of exposure
By Poorvi Gupta
